"Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" is a

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

song written and produced by British hit making team

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...

(SAW), which became a hit for singer

Hazell Dean Hazell Dean ( Poole; born 27 October 1952) is an English dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top-ten hits in the United Kingdom "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)", ...

in 1984. Dean, having had a top 10 hit in May 1984 with "

Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man) "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" is a song written and produced by Ian Anthony Stephens and recorded by British singer Hazell Dean in 1983. It became a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and US Dance Club Songs chart. It was covered in 2007 b ...

", was looking for a follow-up single. Through her record company Proto Records she met SAW, who had by then worked with her label mates

Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

and Agents Aren't Aeroplanes, but were virtually unknown. It became an instant smash, peaking at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart, spending 11 weeks in the chart, becoming SAW's first top 10 hit in the UK.

Background

When Dean visited the producers, they played her the backing track of Divine's "

You Think You're A Man "You Think You're a Man" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1984. The song appeared on the compilation album ''The Story So Far'', released the same year. It was written by Geoff Deane, formerly the lead sing ...

". She liked it, so she agreed to record a single with them as tensions climbed over the need for a second hit. "She was upset at time,"

Mike Stock Michael Stock (born 3 December 1951) is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 n ...

recalled of the high-pressure situation Dean found herself in following her first hit. "I remember her saying at times this was so important to her.

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

that dreadful follow up situation - how do you follow up a hit?'" The song SAW offered her was originally titled "Dance Your Love Away", and had previously been given to American artist, Michael Prince, to record.

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as part of the 1980s/early-1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. Biography He beg ...

came up with the idea of using the backing track with re-written lyrics to appease Dean, who disliked the original chorus. Stock and Aitken proceeded to change the track, which was re-titled "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)". Prince was not informed that Dean had recorded a reworked version of the song he'd recorded first, and was at the time waiting to release. He claims he only found out when her version came on while he was dancing in a nightclub, and says he immediately left to ring the producers and demand an explanation. Mike Stock disputes the details of Prince's story, saying the singer actually rang him from his hospital bed after an accident involving a jar of

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

. A reworked version of "Dance Your Love Away" was released as a single in 1985, but did not chart. Due to this success, Dean went on to record her album with SAW. The resulting LP, '' Heart First'', released in October 1984, was fully produced by the trio, except for "

Chart performance

Dean's single was released in July 1984, and it became an instant smash, peaking at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart, spending 11 weeks in the chart. Tying her 1988 single "

Who's Leaving Who "Who's Leaving Who" is a song written by Jack White and Mark Spiro, first recorded by Canadian country singer Anne Murray in 1986. It achieved bigger popularity in Europe when it was covered by British Hi-NRG singer Hazell Dean in 1988. David Hass ...

" it's highest placed single in the UK. It was also SAW's first of many top 10 singles in the UK charts.

Other versions and Legacy

Dean re-recorded the song for her 1995 album ''The Best of Hazell Dean''. In 1987,

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking a ...

recorded a version of the song for her album, ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

''. Her version was also produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman. In 2025, the song was voted by listeners of the ''A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman'' podcast as the fifteenth greatest SAW record of all time.

References

External links

PWL Empire website Mike Stock website Stock Aitken Waterman website
{{Authority control 1984 singles Laura Branigan songs Hazell Dean songs Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Pete Waterman Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) 1984 songs